The Roman Barbarian
by UWontKnoXD
Summary: {AU} {Percy/You tell me!} Perseus is the adoptive son of a Roman Emperor, but was lost when he was young. A Celtic Tribe found him and raised him as Brennus, and he spent his adolescence mining in the gold veins under Celtic land. But when a Roman Emperor threatens to destroy Celtic civilization, Percy must find out his heritage and use it to strike back at his first home: Rome.


**HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**

**I wrote this for all the people who have relatives coming over and trying to make conversation with them. Now, you can stay in your room and read this on your iPad!**

**I'm trying out this new story! **

**Please review about who you want Percy to be paired with!**

**Please read:**

**NOTES: The Roman ****Emperor Julius Caesar did, in fact, conquer the Celtic Tribes in France (Gaul) at around 192 BC, in order to acquire the vast amount of gold that the Celts had mined/were mining. Also, when the Celtics sacked Rome in 390 BC, 200 years before, they were under the rule of King Brennus! (Brennus means 'King' or 'Leader' in Celtic! At the end of the chpater, you'll see why I picked this name) So yeah, since I'm a bit of a nerd, a lot of things are historically accurate! **

**Historical inaccuracies: There aren't actually any demigods (or are there?), the battle that is mentioned did happen, although at a later time, and a woman didn't give birth there, to my knowledge. Please tell me if I got anything else wrong in the historical stuff!**

**LET'S GO!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, even though this isn't REALLY PJO yet . . . Rick Riordan does!**

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**150-200 BC, Gaul (France)**

Clack, clack, clack. The endless ringing of the picks on the rocks reverberated in the boy's ears, so much that it was barely noticed by him.

He brought the again, his strong back and arms vibrating when the pick hit the stone.

The dark cavern was dimly lit by torches, which provided little warmth. The boy was very cold, but he'd keep mining. He'd discarded his shirt long ago, since all it did was get in the way of other people's pickaxes. It was what he's done all his life.

A chip of a gold material popped out of the wall. It was the size of a Greek drachma, but twice as thick. The boy pocketed it. His mother needed it to pay off her debts.

His back aching from the hours hunched over the gold veins, the boy stumbled towards the entrance of the cavern. Several other miners did as well: two of his friends, and one adult.

At the end of the cavern, a small white light shone, but failed at lighting up the narrow hallway. The torches on their sides were reddish now, so that when you left after long hours at mining, your eyes wouldn't burn when you got outside.

As they reached the end, the cold multiplied. The boy and his friends grabbed thin coats from the walls and rushed outside.

They were hit with blinding white light, with freshly fallen snow crackling under their feet. The boy breathed out, and now one could see his features.

His dark black hair was a shaggy mane that almost reached his shoulders. He had a squarish, ruggedly handsome face, and his eyes were an electric blue. Even his pupils seemed to think his eyes had power: they were as wide as they could get, but once they were hit with the light, they retracted to pinpricks.

He differed greatly from all the other people in his Celtic village, _. Everyone else had blonde-brown hair, with very short faces and _ eyes. The boy was also taller than most of the other children, and subconsciously held himself erect and straight, like a King. Of course, the boy didn't act like it. He was the humblest of all the people, mostly because he was discriminated against due to his strange, foreign appearance.

The boy was christened 'Brennus', after the honored Celtic king that led a rampage that sacked Rome itself. The Celts traded wine and gold often with them, although they weren't naïve. They were on guard, knowing that the new Emperor (more like dictator) of Rome, Julius Caesar, was a cruel man, and wouldn't hesitate to destroy them. They had a deep contempt for the Romans, who called them Barbarians.

Brennus surveyed his small village. Small shacks were lined up around a wide paved road, and smaller streets branched off from it. The road was paved, although now you couldn't see it, since it was covered in a thin layer of snow.

Brennus parted with his friends and walked home, down the road, shivering from the cold. He passed by many other miners on their own ways home. They all looked similar; they all even shaved, since it was Celtic tradition that the men were to shave body hair, since it was considered unclean.

When he reached his home, it was late evening. The moon had come out, and it shone great rays of silver light across the snow. Brennus gently pushed open the door, and crept inside. He kicked off his heavy miner's boots and threw himself in front of the fire, with a contented sigh. The room was a small one, with a kitchen table to one side and a fire pit on the other.

His mother, a middle-aged woman by the name of Sally, bustled into the room. "Bren! Come, come! Warm up over the broth!"

Brennus stiffly stood and walked over to his mother. When he stood, he looked to be about 5 inches taller than his mother, who was very short; about 5 feet.

His mother hugged him and put her hands on his cheeks. "Oh, look how you've grown! You've just turned 11, and you're taller than me!"

Brennus smiled. "Mother, I've been taller than you since I was 9."

"Oh, never mind! Come, come! We're having steak broth, you're favorite! Happy Birthday!" She cried.

Brennus smiled wider. "Thanks, ma."

They ate, and Brennus's mother told him the gossip from town. Brennus listened respectfully, not really interested in what was going on.

But Brennus snapped to attention when his mother mentioned Octavian.

"Octavian? What's up with him?" Octavian was Julius Caesar's nephew and heir, after Julius Caesar's own child was lost and never found. Octavian came to their village to trade every so often. He was Brennus's age and was snotty, and often had his guards kill people who annoyed him.

"He died several weeks ago. Word just got here." Sally said.

"How?"

"Foolishness. There was a gladiator fight, and one slave, a girl, won against everyone. When she requested her leave, Octavian challenged her. As he prepared, a bolt of lightning mysteriously struck him in broad daylight, on a sunny day. The girl disappeared." His mother explained.

Brennus smiled. "What a great birthday."

His mother looked sharply at him. "Son, don't enjoy another's death. The spirits will be angry, and seek vengeance."

Celtic beliefs were not too different from Romans, but the Celts had more spirits and taboo.

"Yes, ma." Brennus said obediently.

They went back to their food.

When they'd finished, Sally told him to wait while she got his present. Brennus waited with much shaking in excitement. His ADHD now was acting up in anticipation.

His mother came back with a long, thin package. She handed it to him.

"Happy Birthday." She murmured, stroking his hair.

Brennus opened the package to find a shining steel sword, with a curved hilt and a slightly curved blade. It much resembled a scimitar.

"This was my husband's sword. He attained it in his travels across the mountains. It is made of Persian Steel, and can cut through almost anything."

Brennus looked up sharply. "Why did you say, 'My husband's'? Why not say, 'your father's'?"

His mother faltered, and when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

"Mother, tell me the truth." Brennus said, getting angry now.

"You - you aren't my biological son." His mother confesses.

Brennus stares at her, and then his eyes flash with electricity. The wind outside grew more violent.

"You've lied to me? My whole life?" He whispered. Then he glared at her. "Spill. Tell me everything."

So his mother told him about how when he was young, the Celtic tribe was traveling, finding a new place to stay, when they bumped into a battle between Roman legions and the Germanic tribes, in which the Germans won. After the battle, the Germanic tribes allowed our tribe to look over the dead Roman soldiers and keep whatever they found. They found some coins and armor, and they used that to become great blacksmiths and miners and craftsman that they are today.

Brennus listened intently. Soon, his mother explained that the Legionnaire of the Roman army was also the husband of a woman who had followed the army and had given birth right before the battle. Though the father was unknown, the leader was the woman's husband, and had helped deliver the child. The woman was shot with an arrow, and the child almost died when it fell into the marsh, but the Celts were there in time to save it.

"That was you, Bren." His mother whispered tearfully. "And not only that, I found out later that you were . . . Julius's Caesar's heir."

Brennus stared at his mother for a few more seconds, and the got up, strapping the sword to his belt. "Don't call me Bren or Brennus anymore. I have no name now." Brennus growled. He pulled on a tunic, and snatched his boots. He grabbed an axe from the corner and made his way to the door strapping on his new sword.

"If I am truly the son of a Roman Legionnaire and heir to Rome, than I have no honor. I will rid you of my unclean self so that the 'spirits don't become angry'." He snarled. He threw the piece of gold on the table, and walked out, slamming the door behind him, leaving a crying woman and only the whisper of the wind to comfort her.

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**DONE!**

**Please tell me if you like it! Brennus will go to Rome soon, and meet a bunch of demigods there.**

**Tell me who you want him to be paired with! Name any female demigod, and there's a possibility that he could be paired with her!**

**REVIEW PLEASE!**

**HAPPY THANKSGIVING!**

**~UWontKnoXD**


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